THE STATE OF THE ART AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES ON ENDOSCOPIC CRYOABLATION TREATMENT
2026 Volume 68 Issue 1 Pages 7-15
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2026 Volume 68 Issue 1 Pages 7-15
Endoscopic cryoablation is widely used in several countries to eradicate dysplastic Barrett’s esophagus or to relieve the symptoms caused by advanced obstructive esophageal cancer.
The two main cryoablation technologies include spray cryotherapy, which disperses cryogenic gas directly over a wide lesion area, and the cryoballoon ablation system (CBAS), which delivers the gas into an inflated balloon to treat a localized area.
In our country, CBAS is expected to be introduced as a treatment option for locally recurrent or metachronous superficial esophageal cancer arising within scar tissue from prior endoscopic resections, which has become increasingly common in recent years. Therefore, an investigator-initiated trial was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CBAS.
The study confirmed a high level of safety and favorable treatment outcomes, leading to regulatory approval of the CBAS in June 2024. It is now expected to be offered as an insurance-covered treatment option for patients in whom endoscopic resection is challenging owing to scarring or changes in adjacent tissues.
